Ready, Threat, Go
January 24, 2022
The Good News
- Judge rules for University of Florida professors in free speech case (Axios)
- Lost Dog Lured to Safety by Drones Dangling Sausages on String (Insider)
“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” – George Orwell
Libel Thumper
The libel lawsuit Sarah Palin filed against The New York Times in 2017 finally starts trial today in a Manhattan federal court. Palin was Senator John McCain’s socially conservative running mate in the 2008 presidential campaign. McCain astonished the political world by tapping the little-known Alaska governor, a self-described hockey mom with five children and little foreign policy experience. Evangelicals loved her anti-abortion views, and as the first Republican female VP nominee, Palin was seen as a real “glass-ceiling” breaker. Democratic opponent Barack Obama used a common political idiom to joke about the “change” mantra the McCain/Palin campaign was pushing, saying, “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig,” meaning the GOP was really offering nothing new. But Palin knocked it out of the park by firing off a clever retort: “You know the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.”
Palin loves guns, and she would make comments like “Don’t retreat. Reload.” After losing the 2008 election, Republicans turned to the midterms. In March 2010, Palin’s PAC distributed a map targeting 20 Democratic congressional districts that Republicans wanted to flip. The districts had symbols evincing crosshairs in a gun scope; one district was held by Arizona’s Gabby Giffords. On January 8, 2011, a deranged gunman opened fire on the crowd Giffords was addressing in a Tucson supermarket parking lot. Six people were killed and Giffords was badly wounded.
The gun control debate exploded again on June 14, 2017, after a tragedy at a park in a Washington suburb. The day before the annual charity baseball game between Dems and the GOP, an angry anti-Trump gunman took a high-powered rifle to the Republican team’s practice and seriously wounded Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise and three others. The Times immediately published an editorial decrying how lethal heated political rhetoric on the right had become, stating “the link to political incitement was clear.” On June 16, the Times published a correction saying no such link had been established, and affirmed the Palin PAC map’s stylized crosshairs were over districts, not individual lawmakers.
The media traditionally has had broad First Amendment protections; a landmark 1964 Supreme Court decision set a high bar for litigants to prove defamation. They had to show not only was a report inaccurate and harmed their reputation, but the report’s producers acted with “actual malice,” meaning they displayed reckless disregard for the truth or knew the report was false. Most libel suits against The Times are dismissed early on, but Palin’s case is different – it’s going to trial. Opponents who say her case is weak acknowledge that a jury could decide otherwise. (NYT, Politico, ABC)
Chile-ing A New Foundation
- Chile’s president-elect, 35-year-old Gabriel Boric, will be the youngest president in Chile’s history when he takes over from billionaire right-wing President Sebastian Pinera on March 11. Boric’s opponent in the hard-fought election was right-winger Jose Antonio Kast, who centered his campaign on conservative social values, security, and immigration.
- Boric, a former student leader, espouses an egalitarian, feminist, and ecological future for Chile. To that end, Boric has put together a progressive cabinet with a ministerial team dominated by women – a first anywhere in the Americas. 14 women and 10 men, with an average age of 49, were named ministers on Friday.
- They will serve in a cabinet that combines experienced moderates with former leaders from the 2011 education protest movement, where Boric forged his political ideals. The new leader’s ministerial picks reflect his aim to build a fairer, more inclusive country and heal the wounds of Chile’s incomplete transition to democracy after Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. (Guardian)
Leavin’ On A Jet Plane
- Ukraine’s atmosphere is so volatile, and security is so tenuous, that on Sunday the State Department ordered all family members of U.S. Embassy personnel serving in Kyiv to leave the country. Nonessential staff were also told they could leave – a decision underscoring Washington’s growing fears of an imminent military invasion by Moscow.
- “The security conditions, particularly along Ukraine’s borders, in Russia-occupied Crimea, and in Russia-controlled eastern Ukraine, are unpredictable and can deteriorate with little notice,” the department said. Besides tens of thousands of Russian troops on its border with Ukraine, Moscow has also moved forces, armored personnel carriers, and fighter jets to Belarus.
- The British government said its intelligence assessments indicate Moscow plans to invade Ukraine and set up its own puppet government. Last week, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on four Ukrainians it said were involved in a conspiracy to discredit the current government of President Zelensky. Washington has provided two rounds of military aid to Ukraine, part of the $200 million in “lethal aid” that Biden approved in late December. (WaPo, NPR, Guardian)
Additional World News
- Italy’s Berlusconi hospitalised in Milan – source (Reuters)
- Talks with Taliban begin in Norway as humanitarian crisis worsens in Afghanistan (NBC)
- UK says Russia plans to replace Ukraine government (NPR)
- Why Boris Johnson May Finally Have Gone Too Far (NYT, $)
- What a Potential Russian Invasion Means in Chernobyl (NYT, $)
- Heavy gunfire reported at Burkina Faso military base (ABC)
- Sedef Kabas: Turkish journalist jailed for reciting proverb (BBC)
- Get world-class training right in your pocket with bande. When the world is weighty, it’s time to pick up your weights. Seriously, being able to keep your body strong and your mind clear is paramount—no matter what’s happening in the headlines.
- Bande has 100+ 2-way live weekly classes, including HIIT, barre, dance, kickboxing, strength, and more. With our intelligent sequencing and unparalleled personal attention, we’ll help you achieve your strongest & most sculpted form.
- Get started today for free and we’ll set you up with a personal coach to help craft your perfect workout program. Working out with bande is like having a boutique fitness studio in your pocket—you’ll wonder how you worked out any other way.
A Multitude Of Sin(ema)s
- After Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) opposed a change to Senate rules last week that could have moved Democratic-backed voting rights legislation forward, the Arizona Democratic Party voted to formally censure her “as a result of her failure to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of our democracy.”
- “I want to be clear, the Arizona Democratic Party is a diverse coalition with plenty of room for policy disagreements, however on the matter of the filibuster and the urgency to protect voting rights, we have been crystal clear,” Arizona Democratic Party chairperson Raquel Terán said in a statement. She added, “In the choice between an archaic legislative norm and protecting Arizonans’ right to vote, we choose the latter, and we always will.”
- The modest Senate rules change proposed by Democrats would have implemented a “talking filibuster” for the voting rights legislation alone. Under this plan, final passage would require a 51-vote majority, rather than the usual 60, after senators used their opportunities to speak to filibuster the bill. (CBS News)
Ready, Threat, Go
- Renewed fights over masks in schools were touched off this month after Glenn Youngkin, Virginia’s new Republican governor, issued an executive order making masks optional for students, subject to parental preference. Youngkin’s order prompted a special board meeting on COVID-19 mitigation strategies in Luray, a small town in the Shenandoah Valley, where school officials require masks.
- At the Thursday morning meeting, Amelia Ruffner King, 42, told school board members: “No mask mandates – my child, my children will not come to school on Monday with masks on. That’s not happening. And I will bring every single gun loaded and ready to – I will.” After the meeting, school superintendent Antonio Fox said in a letter: “Page county public schools does not take these kinds of statements lightly.”
- Ruffner King was later arrested, charged, and released on a $5,000 bond. Board members still voted to make masks optional, despite warnings from the school superintendent that without masks, more students may be forced to quarantine if a student is found to be infected. (Guardian)
Additional USA News
- Ron Johnson: ‘Americans are not looking for election reform’ (The Hill)
- How Americans think Joe Biden has done on their most important priorities after one year (CNN)
- Brian Laundrie wrote that he killed Gabby Petito, the FBI says (NPR)
- Child tax credit IRS Letter 6419 and what to know about it (USA Today)
- US shipment of ‘lethal aid’ reaches Ukraine amid Russia tensions (NBC)
- Trump appointee issues ruling blocking Biden’s vaccine requirement for federal workers (WaPo, $)
- Florida man pleads guilty to threatening to kill Ocasio-Cortez and Pelosi (Guardian)
Cruise Blues
- The cruise ship Crystal Symphony may not be getting any sympathy from passengers, entertainers, or crew, after they were kept on board and taken to another port rather than docking in Miami on Saturday as they were supposed to. It seems the ship was chartered or managed by Crystal Cruises and Star Cruises. Both are being sued for breach of contract by Peninsula Petroleum Far East pursuant to maritime law that allows actions against vessels for unpaid debts. PPFE claims the defendants owe $4.6 million in unpaid fuel charges.
- On Thursday, a Miami federal judge issued an order to “arrest” the ship, meaning a U.S Marshal goes aboard and takes charge of the vessel once it enters U.S. waters. Apparently, the ship’s operators got wind of the order before the Marshal could execute it and hightailed outta there. Crystal Cruises Management told everyone the change in itinerary was due to “non-technical operational issues.” People found out about the lawsuit anyway, and one said on Facebook, “We all feel we were abducted by luxurious pirates!”
- On Sunday, some passengers were taken by ferry to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, but the ride was said to be “uncomfortable due to inclement weather.” Guests were also taken to local airports. 30-50 crew members were able to disembark, but another 400 don’t know when they’ll get off or if they’ll remain employed. Cruise trackers say the Crystal Symphony is currently docked in the Bahamian island of Bimini. That sounds like it’d be nice, but having just been temporarily kidnapped, it’s possible everyone really just wanted to go home. (AP News)
Additional Reads
- All monkeys accounted for after trailer crashes in Pennsylvania (CNN)
- Jean-Jacques Savin: A 75-year-old French adventurer has died attempting solo row across the Atlantic ocean (CNN)
- Can you get long COVID if you’re vaccinated? Early studies offer clues (SF Chronicle)
- Stowaway found in South Africa plane wheel at Amsterdam airport (BBC)
- Hubble spots a black hole fueling star birth (CNN)
- HMS Montrose: Royal Navy seizes drugs in Gulf of Oman (BBC)
- Kiribati lockdown: Remote nation in the Pacific imposes Covid restrictions (CNN)